403 to 3

Right before the Thanksgiving Holiday recess, and after a tenacious week in which Democrats attempted to force a cut and run from Iraq, Republicans demanded and got a consensus on staying the course:

"To cut and run would invite terrorism into our backyards, and no one wants to see troops fighting terrorism on American soil," Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said Friday night after the House, as planned, rejected a GOP-written resolution for immediate withdrawal.
The vote, held as lawmakers rushed toward a two-week Thanksgiving break, was 403-3.
Democrats accused Republicans of orchestrating a political stunt that prohibited thoughtful debate on the issue, and nearly all voted against the measure.

The House action came in a week that also saw the GOP-controlled Senate defeat a Democratic push for President Bush to lay out a timetable for withdrawal. Instead, senators approved a statement that 2006 should be a significant year in which conditions are created for the phased withdrawal of U.S. forces.
"Congress in strong, bipartisan fashion rejected the call to cut and run," White House spokesman Scott McClellan, traveling with Bush in Asia, said a statement. Earlier Friday, the president called an immediate troop withdrawal "a recipe for disaster."

A former US Marine and Vietnam Vet Rep. John Murtha instigated the drastic vote by calling for a withdrawal of troops next year. In a letter to Congress, another US Marine had this to say to Murtha:

...Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, told of a phone call she received from a Marine colonel.
"He asked me to send Congress a message " stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message "that cowards cut and run, Marines never do," Schmidt said

The White House had this to say about the vote:

Victory in Iraq is key to prevailing in the war on terrorism and laying the foundation of peace for our children and grandchildren. Our commanders and troops know how high the stakes are, and they understand the importance of completing the mission. For the second time this week, Congress in strong, bipartisan fashion rejected the call to cut and run. The best strategy to keep America safe is to continue taking the fight to the terrorists, not to retreat in the face of the despicable attacks of a determined enemy. We will succeed in Iraq by hunting down the terrorists, training Iraqi forces and supporting the Iraqi people as they build the foundations for a lasting democracy in the heart of a dangerous region of the world. When victory is achieved our troops will return home with the honor they deserve.

Meanwhile, James Taranto says the So-called Democratic hawk Murtha, isn't!